Directive No. 902/CT-TTg on Strengthening Management of Weapons, Explosives, and Auxiliary Tools to Ensure Public Order in New Circumstances

DIRECTIVE

On Strengthening the Management of Firearms, Explosives, and Auxiliary Tools to Ensure Public Security in New Circumstances

Implementing Decree No. 47/CP dated August 12, 1996 of the Government on the management of firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools, in recent years, ministries, sectors, and provincial people's committees under the central government have directed the implementation and achieved good results, especially in the voluntary surrender of military firearms, hunting guns, homemade guns, crude weapons, and explosives from various sources by the public. As a result, the situation where firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools fall into the hands of criminals and bad elements for criminal activities has been reduced; contributing significantly to maintaining political security and ensuring social order and safety.

However, recently, the situation involving the transportation, sale, storage, production, and illegal use of various types of firearms, explosives, auxiliary tools, and dangerous toys with violent characteristics causing crimes has become quite complex, particularly with criminal gangs using military firearms, hunting guns, homemade guns, machetes, daggers, swords, and homemade mines to commit property theft, murder, personal revenge, and even using weapons against law enforcement officers. This situation has negatively affected social order and caused concern among the public. According to the Ministry of Public Security's report, in 2008 and the first three months of 2009 alone, across the country, there were 345 incidents related to firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools such as criminal acts, storage, use, illegal trade, production, and explosion accidents due to self-demining for scrap materials; resulting in 105 deaths and 128 injuries (the police arrested 449 suspects, confiscating a significant number of military firearms, hunting guns, homemade guns, sports guns, daggers, swords, auxiliary tools, explosives, and homemade mines).

The main reasons for the above situation are:

The implementation of Decree No. 47/CP mentioned above by some ministries, sectors, and localities has not been truly serious, proactive, and continuous; the inspection of firearm management, storage, and use has been neglected; cooperation between functional agencies has been limited; thus, some agencies and units have lost or leaked firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools. Our country has experienced many wars, leaving buried firearms, explosives, and mines that have not been fully recovered; some civilians dig them up to sell for money; additionally, individuals in neighboring countries have produced military firearms, hunting guns, knives, swords, auxiliary tools, and dangerous toys with violent characteristics to sell into Vietnam. After nearly 13 years of implementation, Decree No. 47/CP of the Government has revealed some inadequacies, such as insufficient penalties for certain violations or existing penalties that are not strong enough to deter crime.

To address the above situation, prevent, and stop criminal activities using firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools, the Prime Minister requests:

1. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies under the Government, and Chairpersons of provincial people's committees directly under the central government must continue to strictly implement Decree No. 47/CP and guiding documents on strengthening the management of firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools; at the same time, they must be responsible for inspecting and urging their units to properly store these items to prevent loss. Based on their functions, authorities, and tasks, they should organize inspections of the management, storage, and use of firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools by agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Increase guidance at all levels and sectors, especially forces such as the Police, Border Guard, Coast Guard, Customs, Market Management, to strengthen inspections and patrols in border areas, ports, railway stations, bus terminals, airports, seaports, warehouses, markets, and means of transport to promptly detect and prevent illegal production, sale, transportation, storage, and use of military firearms, hunting guns, crude weapons, explosives, auxiliary tools, and dangerous toys with violent characteristics, especially those smuggled from abroad.

Organize forms of propaganda and mobilization to encourage the public, especially ethnic minority groups in mountainous areas, to voluntarily surrender homemade hunting guns. Strictly prohibit the production, sale, storage, and illegal use of firearms, explosives, auxiliary tools, and dangerous toys with violent characteristics. Any firearms, bombs, explosives, auxiliary tools, or dangerous toys with violent characteristics found from any source must be reported or surrendered to relevant agencies for recovery and handling according to regulations.

2. The Ministry of Public Security is responsible for:

a) Coordinate with the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Supreme People's Court, and the Ministry of Justice to issue a Joint Circular guiding the criminal prosecution of violations concerning the illegal production, sale, transportation, storage, and use of firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools. Focus mainly on types such as hunting guns, homemade guns, homemade explosives, crude weapons like swords, daggers, machetes, and dangerous toys with violent characteristics that are not specifically defined in the Penal Code; if necessary, study and propose the National Assembly to supplement penalties for violations of laws on the management of firearms, explosives, auxiliary tools, and dangerous toys with violent characteristics in the Penal Code.

Complete the drafting of the Ordinance on the Management of Firearms, Explosives, and Auxiliary Tools, and submit it to the Government no later than November 2009.

b) Cases involving the use of firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools by perpetrators must be promptly investigated to clarify motives, purposes, and origins to effectively carry out preventive measures and close loopholes; resolutely handle them strictly, promptly, and publicly according to the law.

c) Have a comprehensive plan for total inspections and reviews of the management of firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools that are legally produced, equipped, and used. Through this, ensure that firearms, explosives, and auxiliary tools are properly equipped and used for their intended purposes, maintaining national sovereignty, security, social order, safety, and economic development of the country./.